Method for sorting soil

ABSTRACT

A sorting station is provided with a hopper, at least one conveyor belt, a deck screener, including at least one mesh screen and at least one spray bar, a chute, having a tapering form, a prep screw, a dewatering screen, wherein the deck screener is configured to have vibration applied thereto to separate a matter from a mixture of matters, and where the at least one spray bar is configured to wash the mixture of matter and further separate a selected matter from the mixture of matters. Methods of sorting a particular matter from a mixture of matters, and processes of filtering soil are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 10,357,779,filed May 23, 2018, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/510,901, filed on May 25, 2017,the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This application relates in general to the field of remediation ofcontaminated matter, and in particular to the field of remediation ofsoil matter including organic and non-organic matter, i.e., soil matterwhich is formed as residuals from civil/construction projects. Morespecifically, the application relates to a sorting plant/station forseparating, sizing, and classifying a selected matter from a mixture ofmaterials which may include organic matter, loam, soil, rocks, sand, andthe like.

Description of Related Art

Soil contamination is common in every country. Once the soil becomescontaminated, precipitation may infiltrate through the soil and carrycontaminants downward into groundwater. Groundwater is a primary sourceof drinking water in some areas around the world, i.e., in the UnitesStates it represents about fifty percent of the country's drinkingwater. When the contaminated soil is left untreated, contaminants maynot only carry contaminants downward into groundwater, but also it couldaffect the environment, and finally negatively affect human health.Thus, the mitigation of contaminants in the subsurface is an issue thatneeds to be addressed.

One of the main sources for soil contamination is construction sites.Construction sites produce massive amounts of construction waste anddisplace a great quantity of soil. Construction waste generated duringcivil developments like construction projects, road improvement,demolitions, and the like have created difficulties across the UnitedStates, difficulties of the environmental and financial type. When itcomes to difficulties of the economic type, construction waste canincrease the overall cost of any civil construction project. Forexample, when builders construct or demolish buildings, bridges and thelike they likely will generate some waste matter or debris. Inparticular cases, this waste matter remains confined to specific items.These items could include specific construction materials such asdrywall, concrete, bricks etc. To comply with prescribed regulations,builders need to reuse or recycle some part of this waste.Alternatively, the hiring of a waste disposal company is needed which iscost prohibitive. The waste removal company or the waste removers willnot only collect and sort the waste based on its recyclable value, butthe company will also dispose of the waste at the landfill causing anenvironmental impact, while only some will get deposited for recycling.

Therefore, builders can find themselves stocked with oversized piles ofmatter, sometimes contaminated, which eventually needs to be removed,transported, and discarded from the property. Matter can be typicallyclassified into three main categories: organic-rich topsoils, sand, andorganic-containing loam (silty sand or strata). Waste removers havecreated markets where matter can be sold for a profit. Within thesemarkets there may be existing markets for organic-rich topsoils, andsand. However, the organic-containing loam (silty sand or strata) is noteasily marketable and is generally stockpiled off-site. Stockpilesoff-site are common at many construction sites and recycling centersacross the United States.

One of the reasons why organic-containing loam is not marketable is dueto its organic components. Within these organic components, silty sandcan be found. When trying to classify silty sand, silty sand lacksenough organic content to be re-used as topsoil, but contains too muchorganic content to be used as a component in concrete, asphalt, or to besatisfactorily compactable for construction and fill purposes. Thus, thesilty sand stockpiles continue to grow at recycling facilities or areillegally dumped across the United States.

Therefore, a need exists for more efficient ways to process, recycle, ordispose of contaminated soil, organic-containing loam, and the like.

SUMMARY

Existing challenges associated with the foregoing, as well as otherchallenges, are overcome by methods for sorting or washing matter andalso by systems, and apparatuses that operate in accordance with themethods.

According to an embodiment herein, a system for sorting matter includesa sorting station comprising a hopper, at least one conveyor belt, adeck screener, including at least one mesh screen and at least one spraybar, a chute, having a tapering form, a prep screw, and a dewateringscreen; wherein the deck screener is configured to have vibrationapplied thereto to separate a matter from a mixture of matters; andwherein the at least one spray bar is configured to wash the mixture ofmatter and further separate a selected matter from the mixture ofmatters.

In one example, the mixture of matters includes soil comprising at leastone of silty sand, rocks, organic matter, or combinations thereof.

In another example, the at least one spray bar is configured to wash themixture at a rate of about 800 GPM to about 1000 GPM.

The at least one spray bar includes a water storing tank or a water pondoperably connected to the deck screener in a further example.

In yet another example, the sorting station further includes a waterstoring tank or a water pond operably connected to the deck screener.

In selected examples, the sorting station further comprises a settler,where a flocculent polymer is added to the settler.

In one example, the sorting station further comprises a pump operablyconnected to the settler.

The pump may be configured to pump a fluid from the water pond or thestorage tank into the deck screen and return the fluid to the water pondthe water pond or the storage tank in a closed loop configuration in afurther example.

The deck screener is configured to separate the mixture at least intotop soil or organic fine material and sand in a further example.

According to another embodiment herein, a method for sorting aparticular matter from a mixture of matters is provided, wherein themethod includes providing a mixture with organic matter and earthymaterial; and sorting at least one matter from the mixture of matters,wherein the sorting includes: selecting at least one matter to besorted; washing the mixture containing the at least one matter with asolvent; transporting the mixture of matters via a conveyor belt,wherein the mixture is disposed onto a deck screener including threefiltration membranes; separating at least one matter from the mixture byapplying vibration to the mixture at the deck screener; and piling theat least one matter, wherein the at least one matter is a fine matterhaving a size from about 0.75 μm to about 6.3 mm.

In one example, the mixture further includes toxic substances which aresubstantially reduced after the sorting.

In another example, the mixture further includes a first quantity ofchemicals and pesticides and the at least one matter includes a secondquantity of chemicals and pesticides, the second quantity beingsubstantially less than the first quantity.

In yet another example, the second quantity is substantially less thanthe first quantity.

According to another embodiment herein, a process of filtering soilincludes providing a soil inlet operably connected to a deck screenerframe, wherein the deck screener frame includes one or more screen decksmembranes disposed one above the other; providing a conveyor beltoperably connected to each screen deck membrane; providing a chuteoperably connected to the deck screener frame; providing a sand screwoperably connected to the chute and a retention pond; providing adewatering screen operably connected to the sand screw and the retentionpond; providing a conveyor belt operably connected to the dewateringscreen; and permeating soil in repeated cycles by (i) adding a selectedvolume of soil to the soil inlet, wherein the soil travels from the soilinlet to the deck screener frame via a conveyor belt, (ii) withdrawing avolume of water through the deck screener frame and a spray bar; and(iii) after the adding step (i), performing a separation comprising: (A)permeating the soil through the one or more screen decks membranes,wherein the soil is separated into four matters; (B) permeating one ofthe four matters via the sand screw and flowing excess water to theretention pond; and (C) after the permeating step (B), permeating theone of the four matters via the dewatering screen flowing excess waterto the retention pond.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the presentdisclosure and, together with a general description of the presentdisclosure given above, and the detailed description of the embodimentsgiven below, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a sorting station in accordance withthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 2-4 are top perspective views of the sorting station of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5-6 are top perspective views of selected portions of the sortingstation of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7-10 are enlarged side views of selected portions of the sortingstation of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 11-13 are perspective views of matter samples in accordance withthe present disclosure; and

FIGS. 14a-16f are sample tables including sample data in accordance withthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the present system and method are disclosedherein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the system and methods as a whole, which may beembodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are notnecessarily to scale, and some figures may be configured to show thedetails of a particular component. Therefore, specific structural andfunctional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted aslimiting, but merely as a representative basis for the claims and forteaching one skilled in the art to practice the present invention.

As used herein, terminology will be defined as follows. The terminology“coarse fraction” is meant to refer to the fraction of the soil fromwhich large debris, usually greater than 50 mm, has been removed andconstituted of particles of a size within the functional range of theseparator used to decontaminate the coarse fraction, namely, a jig. Jigsare recognized as being functional with particles larger than or about170 μm with a plus or minus deviation of about 5 μm.

The terminology or word “soil” and the like (whether as a noun,adjective, etc.) shall be understood as referring to superficial earthcrust, whether natural or man-made (i.e. unconsolidated mantle), namely,aggregate material. Other examples may be organic material containingloam, silty sand or common fill material.

The terminology or word “aggregate” and any similar word (whether asnoun, adjective, etc.) shall be understood as referring to or ascharacterizing (or emphasizing) a “soil”, “sediment”, “material”, etc.or any portion thereof as a mass of individual particles or componentsof the same or varied size (e.g. the size of the components may not beuniform and may range from microscopic granules to 10 cm with a plus orminus deviation of about 2 cm and larger than about 12 cm). It is alsoto be understood that the particle size distribution of any particularsoil mass, etc. may be different from that of another soil mass, etc.Aggregate material may include dry matter, which may come from soilaggregate material from dry masses of land or dirt. For example,aggregate material may be material excavated from virgin earth,sedimentary aggregate including any bottom sediments of fresh or marinewater systems. In another example, aggregate material may include anorganic matter portion derived for example, from plant or animalsources. Organic material such as plant material would usually form partof the coarse aggregate material as described hereinafter and wouldinclude, for example, tree stumps, ligneous particles, etc. Aggregatematerial may also be derived from human activities like mining, forexample, mineral aggregate materials.

The terminology “large debris” is meant to refer to material in the soilto be decontaminated that has a size equal or larger than about 6 cmwith a plus or minus deviation of about 2 cm. It includes material suchas rocks and large pieces of metals.

The terminology “intermediate fraction” is meant to refer to a fractionof the soil and having a particulate size that is smaller than that ofthe coarse fraction and that is within the functional range of theseparator used to decontaminate the intermediate fraction, namely, aseparator selected from the group consisting of a spiral and a fluidizedbed classifier. Hence, the spiral and the fluidized bed classifier arerecognized as being functional with particles within the size range ofabout 60 μm with a deviation of plus or minus about 5 μm and about 2000μm with a deviation of plus or minus about 5 μm.

The terminology “fine fraction” is meant to refer to a fraction of thesoil having a particulate size that is smaller than that of theintermediate fraction and that is within the functional range of theseparator used to decontaminate the fine fraction, namely, a separatorsuch as a multi-gravity separator (“MGS”) and a flotation cell. Hence,the MGS and the flotation cells are recognized as being functional withparticles within the size range of about 1 μm to about 300 μm, and about10 μm to about 300 μm, respectively.

The terminology “classify”, “classification” and the like shall beunderstood as referring to the dividing of an aggregate material intosize groupings or portions and as including separation of constituentcomponents in accordance with size, e.g. size separation by screening,gravity separation, etc.

Various embodiments of the presently disclosed sorting plant/station andmethods of using the same will be described in detail with reference tothe drawings wherein like references numerals identify similar oridentical elements.

Referring now in detail to the drawing figures and in particularinitially to FIGS. 1-10, a sorting station 10 is presented. Sortingstation 10 may include a hopper 100, at least one conveyor belt 200, adeck screener 300, a fines collecting chute 700, a prep screw or sandscrew 800, dewatering screen 1000, and other instruments known in theart for separating large debris, material with aggregate, intermediateand fine fractions, or matter of mixed materials. The sorting station 10finds particular use in the preparation of useful soil of neartheoretical top soil and in the removal of unwanted matter from siltysand or contaminated material. For example, utilizing a wet screeningprocess with equipment commonly used in the mining industry, theorganics and fine sediment (silt) can be separated from sand and gravelas shown in FIG. 1. The silty sand or contaminated material is disposedinto a hopper 100, then travels on a conveyor belt 200 to a deckscreener 300, and eventually reaching a stock pile. In embodiments, thetravel time from the hopper 100 to the deck screener 300 may be of abouttwo 2 to 3 minutes.

The deck screener 300 is a device or frame that holds a screen cloth,membrane, or meshes in place, and can be configured to vibrate. Deckscreener 300 is configured to filter matter via a wet screening processincluding solvent such as water. In selected embodiments, the deckscreener can further include a screening drive (not shown). For example,schematic FIG. 1 shows a deck screener 300 including a feeding end 310and a discharging end 320. While in use, a selected soil can travel fromfeeding end 310 to the discharging end 320.

In embodiments, the deck screener 300 can be configured as a multipledeck. A multiple deck includes a plurality of screen decks placed in aselected configuration where there are a series of decks attachedvertically and lean at the same angle. Multiple decks are often referredto as double deck, triple deck, or the like, and generally includeelement connected thereof. For example, deck screener 300 may includethree screens made from at least one mesh material but not limitedthereto, further including at least one spray bar 330 (FIG. 4). Inembodiments, the at least one mesh material may be formed of metal suchas cast iron, cooper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, stainless steel,copper, aluminum, iron, ore and the like; or polyurethane (PUR or PU),rubber such as a rubber sieve, a plastic material, or any other suitablepolymer. In addition, t is understood that the three screens or at leastone of the screens may be manufactured using any of the materials justmentioned, or others, or a combination thereof, i.e., a mesh may bemanufactured using a metal like aluminum and may be further coated withPUR. In embodiments the deck screener 300 can be connected to a chute700. The discharge chute 700 can be further configured to include aplurality of release chutes (release chute 701, release chute 702, andrelease chute 703).

In embodiments, the at least one spray bar 330 may be configured as amanifold, in other words the at least one spray bar 330 can beconfigured as a pipe or chamber branching into several openings. The atleast one spray bar 330 can be configured to spray and distribute aselected fluid during the sorting process such as water or a flocculent.Further, the at least one spray bar 330 can assist washing-out,separating, or partially removing selected particles, which may becategorized as contaminants.

As mentioned above, in exemplary embodiments it may be desired to havedeck screener 300 configured to include a plurality of screen decks. Forexample, as seen in FIG. 1 deck screener 300 may include a top deck 301,a deck 302, and a deck 303, each deck having a selected spacingconfiguration. The selected spacing configuration may be sized between 1to 4 inches (about 25 mm to about 100 mm) for the top deck 301, between1 inch to ½ of an inch (about 12 mm) for the middle deck 302, andbetween ½ inch or less (about 12 mm) for the bottom deck 303. It is tobe understood that the selected spacing may vary depending on a desiredsize of the final products.

In embodiments, the average time which may take for a material to travelover the top deck 301 onto conveyor belt 400 is about 2 minutes. Inembodiments, if the material falls through top deck 301 and onto middledeck 302, the average travel time is about 3 minutes. In embodiments, ifthe material falls through middle deck 302, and onto bottom deck 303,the total average travel time can be about 4 minutes. Accordingly, thetotal travel time through all three decks can be from about 2 to about 4minutes, the travel time may vary depending on a selected set up ofsorting station 10.

In embodiments, at least one screen deck selected from decks 301-303 canbe connected or disposed adjacent to a sand screw 800. Sand screw 800and it may be configured to accept material either directly fromaggregates screening operations or can be fed from a classification tank(not shown). The sand prep screw 800 can be adjustable and may beselected from a range of screws between 24 inches to about 72 inches indiameter, in embodiments the sand screw 800 can be equipped with anoverflow weir at the feed point which may provide the mechanism forfines removal. For example, for a selected separation procedure, a sandprep screw 800 may be about 36 inches. While in use, a selected soil canbe disposed on deck 300 where the selected soil may be filtrated throughthe top deck 302 and a second portion of the deck 300. The first portionof the top deck 302 may have a selected and a specific size screen onthe deck (with a plurality of defined openings), which corresponds tothe size fractions, i.e., coarse fraction, intermediate fraction, and/orfine fraction, which is preferred for passing over that screen, andpassing through that screen. In embodiments, multiple water pipes,combined with multiple nozzles may be placed on each screen deck, toinsure that all material is washed.

While in use, deck screener 300 can be configured to receive an elementwhich may be a material, substance, or mixture therethrough, and it mayfurther be configured to connect to additional elements. The receivedelement can be separated or filtered at the deck screener 300 and theadditional elements may be configured in such a way that may provideassistance with the separation or filtration. For example, a selectedsubstance may go through first deck 301 of the deck screener 300. Theselected substance may be silty sand which can be washed via anadditional element like pressurized water at the rate of about 700 GPMto about 1200 GPM. An aggregate sample, which may be larger than otheraggregate samples may travel down the top deck 301 to the dischargechute 701, onto a stacking conveyor belt 400, for example, an aggregatesample of about 1 inch in size and piled into a first stockpile 1110. Inembodiments, most or all of the remaining fine silty sand material aswell as aggregate samples less than about 1 inch in size, may fall tothe middle deck 302 below. Once on the middle deck 302, the materialwhich is smaller than about 1 inch, but larger than about 7/16 of aninch, will travel down the middle deck 302, being washed further by atleast one spray bar 330 on the middle deck 302, to the discharge chute702, onto a stacking conveyor belt 500, and piled into a secondstockpile 1120, while having all fine silty sand material, as wellaggregate samples less than about 7/16 of an inch in size, washed offalong the way, falling to the bottom deck 303 below. In embodiments, onthe bottom deck 303, the material larger than about 5/16 of an inch andsmaller than about 7/16 inch will travel down the deck, being washedfurther by the at least one spray bar 330 on the bottom deck, to thedischarge chute 703, onto a stacking conveyor belt 600, and piled into athird stockpile 1130, while having all fine silty sand material, whichis less than about 5/16 of an inch fall into a fines collecting chute700, which leads to the prep screw 800. A low end 810 of the angled sandscrew 800 may be filled with water which may further wash the sand, andremove the remaining silt from the sand. As the sand travels toward anend opposed to low end 810 of the sand prep screw 800, the material iswashed and scrubbed along the way, by the water in the fines collectingchute 700, in conjunction with the scrubbing action of the prep sandscrew 800. By the time the sand travels approximately 25 feet up theprep sand screw 800 (non-limiting), the majority of the surface waterwill have drained off of the clean sand material. In embodiments, thetravel processing time for the sand to be cleaned and scrubbed whiletraveling in the prep sand screw 800 may be from about 1 to about 2minutes and the water may be at room or ambient temperature. The sandthen may be dropped onto the dewatering screen 1000, which may bestationary, for further moisture removal for about 2 to about 3 minutes.All recaptured water during the process may be pumped back to thesettler/classifier system, described below. A direct lift pump,displacement pump, gravity pump, or any other mechanical system able todisplace/transport fluids may be used to circulate/re-direct the waterwithin the system. After the sand is dropped onto the dewatering screen1000, clean sand is dropped onto a final conveyor belt 1010 and stackedin a fourth stockpile 1100 in about 1 minute travel time. Water leavingthe dewatering screen 1000, may be directed to a settling tank orretention pond 1400 by way of element 1300 (see FIG. 1) or may be re-fedinto sorting station 10 by the way of processes which will be describedbelow. For example, it may be desired to have settling tank or retentionpond 1400 operably connected to the screen deck 300 via a fluid, suchthat the fluid circulates in a close loop cycle therefrom. The fluid maybe circulated via known in the art elements like a pump, a hose or apipe.

In embodiments, the total travel time of the material from hopper 100 toa final stockpile is about 7 minutes to about 10 minutes.

In embodiments, sorting station 10 may define a mechanical process wherewater is captured and re-used through an on-site storage tank 1400 a orsettler/classifier system 1400 a. To facilitate rapid settlement ofsuspended fine sediments (fines) in water within the settler/classifiersystem 1400 a, a flocculent polymer may be introduced in solution forminto the initial chamber (not shown) of the settler/classifier system330 a. Once settled, the fines may progress within thesettler/classifier 1400 a via a paddle conveyor (not shown) system andexit the system through downstream weir. The clarified water may bepumped back into the deck screener 300; therefore, no waste is generatedduring the sorting process.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 6, in embodiments, the sorting station 10may be a commercially available system, for example, a Kolberg Pioneer1822SH Skid Plant having a triple deck horizontal screener 300 withspray bars 330 on each of the three decks, each deck having a dischargechute 701-703 (which may have various types of abrasion resistant (AR)liners) and one screen fines collecting hopper (which may have varioustypes of AR liners), which has a Kolberg Pioneer Series 5036-25T (about36 inch diameter long×25 feet long) sand prep screw with solid flitespirals, Ni-hard outer wear shoes, shaft mount reducers, variablefrequency drive, and is configured to be rated for about 100 TPH (tonsper hour) to about 175 TPH (tons per hour) of sand material. Inembodiments, when an impact point on a hopper, or chute is hitconstantly with material, an abrasion resistant liner or AR wear platemay be bolted over the location of the constant impact, so the hopperdoes not wear down, but only the above mentioned AR wear plate or liner.Further, if the wear plate wears out, a user may replace it with a newone. The sorting station 10 may include a vibration system 304 in orderto assist with the screening of matter. More specifically, a vibrationvia a shaker (not shown) may be applied to deck screener 300 whilematter is transported from hopper 100 to deck screener 300 to avoidclogging or to speed up the screening process. In a differentembodiment, the vibration may be provided by any device known in the artthat which configured to induce a vibration and it can be operablyconnected to either side of the deck screener 300 or on both sides. Inembodiments, the vibration device or shaker may include mechanicalshakers, electro mechanical shakers, shakeout machines, vibratoryconveyors, or any other industrial vibratory equipment.

With reference to FIG. 7, in embodiments, hopper 100 may have asubstantially rectangular cross-sectional shape configuration with anopening configured to receive matter thereof. Hopper 100 which feedsonto conveyor belt 200, may be constructed of a strong and durablematerial such as, for example, steel or aluminum. Hopper 100 may includesteel walls with additional steel plates to prevent wear and addstrength and durability. In embodiments, the additional plates may beremovably attached to hopper 100. In addition, hopper 100 may beconfigured to resist wear and tear caused by dropping matter therein. Inembodiments, hopper 100 may be a commercially available hopper such asKolberg Pioneer Series 930-18-20 Skid Mounted Hopper/Feeder with a 20cubic yard hopper, variable frequency drive, grizzly dump for scalpingof material greater than 6 inches and at a rated for about 400 TPH toabout 600 TPH of material.

With reference to FIGS. 8-10, it may be desired to have a conveyor beltwith a movable configuration. For example, in embodiments, conveyor belt200 may include a set of wheels 201 which may enable a user to move ordeploy conveyor belt 200 in a different location. Further, a user mayset conveyor belt 200 to a selected elevation, thus, conveyor belt 200may include mechanical means to set and maintain a selected height withrespect to a surface where sorting station 10 is being used. It must becontemplated that in embodiments a different configuration for sortingstation 10 may be desired, thus, a movable configuration may also beapplied to any of the above mentioned conveyor belts or elements ofsorting station 10.

In embodiments, after the sorting process, a selected matter from thesorting of matters may be ready for commerce. For example, one or all ofthe matters being transported by conveyor belts 400, 500, 600, and 1010may be ready for purchase by any individual and further used and/orrecycled in construction projects, civil projects, residential,commercial, industrial or the like. For example, a coarse fraction maybe formed by using the above described sorting process using sortingstation 10. Once ready for commerce, the coarse matter could be used formanufacturing of asphalt, concrete, pipe bedding, concrete foundationbase material, concrete floor base material, sluiceway material, andlandscape decretive material, among many other uses for coarse andintermediate fraction material. In another example, a fine materialhaving a preferred size from about 0.75 μm to about 6.3 mm may beprovided in the sorting process. This finer material can be used for themanufacturing of asphalt and concrete, as well as structural fill,engineered fill, thermal mitigation sand, environmental reclamationmaterial, environmental remediation material, embankment fill, and aclean sub-base material, and the like.

With reference to FIGS. 11-13, sorting station 10 can be configured tofilter soil, dirt, sand, or the like, and ultimately obtain a pluralityof matters having a selected texture or grain size. Exemplaryembodiments in FIGS. 12 and 13 depict texture and grain samples whichcan be obtained via filtering a sample thought the sorting station 10.More specifically, a sample 20 (FIG. 11) can be used to obtain a sample30 (FIG. 12) and a sample 40 (13). In embodiments, a sample 20 can besoil, organic containing loam, common fill material or silty sand, canbe washed/sorted via sorting station 10 and ultimately obtaining asubstantially similar sample like samples 30 or 40. The texture or grainsize of the samples may be tested before and after the sorting processas to comply with local matter codes.

For example, FIGS. 14-16 depict exemplary embodiments of tablesencompassing testing data associated with pre and post sorting processesof matter. More specifically, FIGS. 14a-14f depict a table (table 1)including data associated with a sample of silty sand before the sortingprocess, and FIGS. 15a-16f depict tables (tables 2 and 3) including dataassociated with a sample of matter after the sorting process of siltysand. The data before the sorting and the data after the sorting dataare empirical data that can be compared to comply with localenvironmental codes. Additionally, this data may be used to adjustsorting station 10 to a desired sorting configuration.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merelyexamples of possible implementations. Many variations and arrangementsmay be made to the above-described embodiments, which may includedifferent arrangements of the sorting station described above includingin the washing, filtering, transporting, and in the general process usedwhen sorting a matter. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sorting station comprising; a movable deckscreener configured to receive a mixture and including at least onefilter and a fluid supply unit, wherein the fluid supply unit isconfigured to supply a fluid; a chute connected to the movable deckscreener and a mixer, the two in fluid communication with the deckscreener and configured to separate the mixture; a drying station and atleast one settler in fluid communication with each other and to themovable deck screener; and wherein the fluid is configured to wash themixture and assists with separating the mixture into at least twobyproducts.
 2. The sorting station of claim 1, wherein the mixture is abyproduct of a construction or excavation site.
 3. The sorting stationof claim 2, wherein the mixture is transported from the constructionsite to the deck screener via a mode of transport selected from air,water, or land transport.
 4. The sorting station of claim 1, furthercomprising a moving belt operably coupled to or disposed below the deckscreener and configured to transport at least one byproduct from thedeck screener into a vehicle or a selected area away from the deckscreener.
 5. The sorting station of claim 1, further comprising: a fluidpath configured to receive fluid from the drying station and the atleast one settler; and a fluid receiving area in fluid communicationwith the fluid path.
 6. The sorting station of claim 5, wherein thefluid receiving area is configured to contain the fluid, or distributethe fluid out to the environment or back into the sorting station. 7.The sorting station of claim 6, wherein the at least one settler is asettling pond or an internal settle disposed the movable deck.
 8. Thesorting station of claim 2, wherein the mixture includes at least onelumpy granular or lumpy matter.
 9. The sorting station of claim 1,further comprising a second fluid or a fluid mixture which is added tothe fluid at the deck screener or at the settler, wherein the secondfluid is configured to enable a faster rate of settlement of matter orbyproduct than when settling matter via the only one fluid.
 10. Thesorting station of claim 9, wherein the second fluid is a coagulant or aflocculent.
 11. The sorting station of claim 9, further including athird fluid or a fluid mixture which is added to the fluid at the deckscreener or at the settler.
 12. The sorting station of claim 1, whereinthe at least two byproducts are selected from topsoil, sand,organic-containing loam or selected mixtures thereof.
 13. The sortingstation of claim 1, wherein the sorting station is configured toseparate the mixture into silty sand or strata and at least onebyproduct.
 14. A matter transporting and separating system comprising: amatter-receiving hub operably connected to a plurality of sortingdevices and configured to receive a matter, wherein each of theplurality of sorting devices define a matter-entering portion and amatter-exiting portion; a first sorting device selected from theplurality of sorting devices, wherein the first sorting device isdisposed below of and in fluid communication with the matter-receivinghub; a second sorting device selected from the plurality of sortingdevices and disposed below of and in fluid communication with the firstsorting device; a third sorting device selected from the plurality ofsorting devices and disposed below of and in fluid communication withthe second sorting device; a fourth sorting device selected from theplurality of sorting devices and disposed below of and in fluidcommunication with the third sorting device; and a pond in fluidcommunication with the second sorting device and the third sortingdevice.
 15. The matter transporting and separating system of claim 14,wherein the second sorting device is disposed in such a way that thematter-entering portion is disposed below a plane defined by thematter-exiting portion.
 16. The matter transporting and separatingsystem of claim 15, wherein the pond is in fluid communication with thematter-exiting portion of the second sorting device, and the secondsorting device is configured to transport matter via rotation of aportion thereof.
 17. The matter transporting and separating system ofclaim 16, wherein the second sorting device is configured to transportmatter upstream from the matter-entering portion to the matter-exitingportion and during transportation, separate matter or byproduct into atleast two byproducts.
 18. The matter transporting and separating systemof claim 16, wherein the matter travels about 25 feet up from thematter-entering portion to the matter-exiting portion.
 19. The mattertransporting and separating system of claim 14, further comprising apaddle conveyor and a weir, the weir operably connected to the fourthsorting device, the paddle conveyor is configured to transport or pushfine by products above the weir after settlement of matter is enabledvia addition of the flocculent.
 20. The matter transporting andseparating system of claim 14, wherein the first sorting device includesat least one screen cloth, membrane, mesh or filter disposed below thematter-receiving hub, and the first sorting device is configured toseparate the matter into at least two byproducts via a fluid and aperiodic or random oscillation applied to at least a portion thereof.